


A Matter of Taste

by Domino



Category: Angel: the Series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Farscape
Genre: AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-07-23
Updated: 2005-07-23
Packaged: 2017-10-11 20:42:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/116887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Domino/pseuds/Domino
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's my AU Vampire fic.  Where are vampires really from?</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Matter of Taste

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place after What Was Lost, Parts One and Two.

A MATTER OF TASTE

BY DOMINO

Summary: It's my AU Vampire fic. Where are vampires really from?  
Author's notes: This takes place after What Was Lost, Parts One and Two.  
Rating: Eventually NC-17.  
Disclaimer: Don't own 'em. Sure as frell I am not rich….  
Story notes: Blame this on my dark heart. I really don't know where this came from, except Ben's neck looked really tempting during one of the episodes.

************************************************************************

 

John gingerly stepped out of Dargo's ship Lo'La onto another commerce planet. He sniffed the air and he adjusted to the dim light of the setting sun. The planet had a dusty, old smell that reminded him of fall on Earth. He fought off another bout of homesickness as he watched the receding backs of his friends. His comrades were still treating him differently after the escapade with Grayza on Arnessk; they were a little distant as if they didn't know how to talk to him any longer. He felt different even to himself; as if his body were not his own now.

He left the pod only after the others had left for their own shopping desires. He wanted to wander around on his own to look at things, but mostly to think. He stood just outside of the hatch of D'Argo's ship and took his time looking around. Loneliness was making him moody and depression was setting in, making itself at home in his bones. Aeryn was gone and no one knew where she was. John knew he was losing the hope he would see her again or know anything about the baby.

He strode off at a leisurely pace in the general direction of the market place. This planet was warm enough that he didn't need to wear his leather duster and he felt somehow freer without it as if he had be able to shed some of his problems with his coat. He walked through the throng of beings from all sorts of races and contentedly looked at things of interest, while trying to avoid any hostility due to his likeness to Peacekeepers. John didn't see the being in the shadows, the one who had stopped to stare as he passed by.

************************************************************************

She couldn't believe the old myths were true. She followed the being closely as he leisurely walked through the stalls of the market place. She had been one of many picking up supplies for her secluded colony when she had detected the odor she had only heard about in tales as a child. The aroma was thick and sweet, with a hint of salt and something metallic. She couldn't stop the impulse to follow the being in her site.

He was beautiful, with strong sturdy limbs. She watched as he played with a toy at a merchant's stand with nimble fingers. She smiled as he walked around the market place with wonderment in his blue, blue eyes. She had forgotten what blue, the blue of a sea, looked like. She was compelled to follow the wake of intoxicant he was leaving. She followed him to an axis in the market place.

She rushed ahead using the abilities given to her people so long ago no one remembered the cycle. She was waiting for him as he turned the corner and came to a sudden halt. Her eyes caught his, held him and forced his body into a type of paralysis. With her hand, she ushered him forward and his feet lifted off the ground, dragging his toes as he floated. She never took her eyes off the vibrant blue of his as he floated forward.

She wrapped her arms around him, encasing him in the black shroud she wore as protection. She opened her mouth wide to expose her elongated teeth and watched as his eyes closed the closer her mouth got to his neck. She felt his body flinch and then heard him sigh as her teeth sank into his flesh. Her senses she had used to detect his blood had not deceived her or diluted the blood in its beauty. His blood was as sweet and fulfilling as their history claimed it would be. She knew she could not take his life as she had never known any other with the same blood. She was determined he would be preserved and maintained.

************************************************************************

Chiana strode from booth to booth looking for anything new she could purchase with the krendars she had. She looked around for the human she was so fond of. She had spotted him earlier looking at a child's toy with a forlorn expression on his face. She was worried about Crichton. He had seemed different to her, but she couldn't understand what was wrong with the human. Aside from the usual. He was just too strange, even after all the cycles she had spent in his company. She looked up from some baubles when she heard a commotion. She saw Dargo drop his purchases suddenly and run in another direction.

Chiana knew Crichton was somehow in the center of whatever had made D'Argo charge away and she ran in the direction the Luxan had gone. She contacted Pilot through their comms as she ran and came to an abrupt halt beside Dargo, who seemed frozen in one spot. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. A woman was holding a seemingly unconscious Crichton and her mouth was at his neck.

Chiana could see traces of blood around the seal of the woman's mouth and John's neck. The woman raised her eyes, white with tiny black irises, and felt fear as she made direct eye contact. Chiana knew a predator when she saw one. D'Argo raised his Qualta Blade as the woman licked the wounds she had left. D'Argo fired and Chiana watched in shock when she saw the woman disappear as if she'd never been. Crichton drop to the ground with a hard thump.

No one saw the small insect crawl inside the neckline of John's shirt.

************************************************************************

Consciousness came gradually to John and he fought to open heavy eyelids. When he saw only fuzzy images, he then fought to focus his eyesight. He groaned at the pain the light was scorching through his brain. His arm weighed too much for him to lift to shield his eyes.

His face was unexpectedly bathed with a cool cloth and John knew Chiana was there when he saw a blur of grey. She was treating him for some illness he had no memory of. He turned to look at her and ask, but his voice came out as a croak. Chiana placed a cup of cool water to his lips and he drank slowly, relieving his parched throat. He looked around and found he was lying on an examination table in Zhaan's old apothecary bay.

"Hey, Pip," John took another breath as talking seemed to exhaust him. He took one more strengthening breath as Chiana waited impatiently with a worried expression. "What happened to me, Chi?"

"We found you with some kind of parasite attached to your neck. It left two holes in your neck," she told him in a matter of fact tone. His eyes closed automatically as she gently washed his face again with the cool cloth and it relieved some of his heat. He opened his eyes again.

"What is going on with my body? Is this the effect of being made into someone's afternoon snack?" John gasped as he felt drained with the exertion of just talking. Chiana shushed him and got up to walk to a work station. She mixed a concoction together and brought it back. She lifted his head and held the mixture to his lips. The smell and thickness of the medicine made him gag at first, but he managed to drink it down.

"You have had a severe blood loss that I'm trying to do something about," she said as she stood next to him. She was staring at him in that angry and worried way she had. He watched as her head did that jerky thing it usually did when she was agitated. John was becoming alarmed. Chiana laid his head gently back on the pillow. She was looking at him in a way he knew she had observed his rising fear. Chiana told him, "We also have to guard against infection for that exaggerated love mark on your neck. Do you remember anything that happened, Crichton?"

He shook his head negative as talking had exhausted him. He was frustrated as he felt his eyes shutting of their own accord as he slipped into fatigued sleep. He would have to wait for the answers he wanted.

************************************************************************

Chiana worriedly watched as John succumbed to the sleeping draught she had mixed into the medicine to boost his blood replacement. She felt frustrated and angry. She was frustrated at trying to take care of Crichton without any medical training except for watching Zhaan for the time she had.

She looked up from covering Crichton more firmly as Dargo and the old woman walked into the chamber. Chiana detected anger and confusion in Dargo's stance in front of her. She had known the Luxan so long and intimately, she knew what he was feeling most of the time. It was the old woman she couldn't figure. She seemed to be completely fahrbot.

"Has he awakened yet?" Dargo asked. Chiana was angry. She turned without answering and started on the next dose Crichton would need. She was banging things around when Dargo gently took her hand. She yanked it out of his grasp and stared up at him angrily.

"Yes, he woke up! But I gave him something to help him sleep with his medicine. He was exhausted from losing too much blood!" She yelled angrily. She heard John stir slightly and felt some remorse. She waited until he quieted down and then spoke quietly. "I just don't know how to help him. Zhaan didn't leave any notes to help me. I have nothing to go by." Chiana gave the old woman a hard stare as she stood close to John and then turned back to continue preparing the elixir Crichton would need in a few arns.

"What was that thing, Dargo? John didn't even remember what happened to be able to tell us what it was?" Chiana asked the Luxan in a whisper. She knew her eyes had the round shape they normally did when she was afraid, but she wouldn't admit it out loud. She was relieved to be off and away from that planet. It had looked so tranquil when they had landed; she had let down her guard. They all had and Crichton had been the one to be attacked.

"The being who had alerted me to Crichton's peril told me they had no record of such a being ever being on their planet," Dargo told her as he walked over and gazed down at his friend. He glanced as the old woman walked over to the table Chiana was mixing herbs together. D'Argo then looked back at John's sleeping face. He and John had been through so much together, he was frustrated as well at not being there when John needed him.

"You both need to leave," Chiana knocked the old woman's hands out of the way, giving her a less than gentle shove. "I need to concentrate on the things Zhaan did teach me." She turned her back on them both, pretending they had already gone until she didn't need to pretend any longer.

************************************************************************

She watched from a small alcove in her insect form as the being worked around the one she wanted. He had not taken her bite well and she was glad to see someone cared enough about him to heal him. She would have to remember that in the future. She also realized she would have to wait for some time to taste his blood again. She could wait. Her race had waited for an eternity for him.

 

A MATTER OF TASTE, PART TWO

BY DOMINO

************************************************************************

John opened his eyes to stare into black irises in a gray face. He smiled and was rewarded with a quick kiss and a Nebari giggle. John was surprised he felt better and chuckled as his stomach growled, letting him know he was getting well. He found himself still lying in the med bay and decided he was going to somehow get to his own quarters, where he knew he could relax.

"Hungry, John?" Chiana asked him with laughter in her tone. John smiled weakly as she turned and left the bay. He knew she was going to obtain something he could hold down. John conducted a self examination and discovered his stomach was tender, but had lost the queasy feeling he'd woken with before. He hoped Chiana would use her common sense and bring him something light and bland. Although, John knew he didn't have a lot of choice on this side of the universe.

"We thought you were not going to survive, Crichton," Sikozu stated from the door. John watched in trepidation as the arrogant Kalish slowly walked into the med bay. He had a feeling he was about to be put under the Spanish Inquisition. 'For which no one was ever ready for,' John smiled to himself at his joke no one on this side of the universe would ever get. John always got the impression she didn't see the worth his friends saw in him. "Chiana has informed us you do not remember anything of what occurred. Is this true?"

"The last thing I remember, Sputnik, is looking at children's toys and then I remember waking up here feeling really bad," John said weakly. John knew he wasn't up to being harassed and Sikozu looked to be gearing up to cross-examine him for dishonesty. Chiana zoomed into the bay carry a small tray and gave the Kalish a dirty look as she passed. He almost laughed as Granny was following close on her heels. He started to laugh as Chiana had to shoo the old woman away, but sobered quickly as he wondered if Granny had made what they were going to try to feed him. He'd had enough of her foods and magic powders.

"What's she doin' here?" Chiana asked. John was amazed Chiana could turn a simple question into such blatant hostility, which should have been enough to chase Sikozu out. John didn't think he'd ever been that lucky. Chiana took the tray away from Noranti and plopped the tray on his lap, effectively distracting him from the harassment coming his way from Sikozu. He looked down at a bowl of some kind of soup Chiana had brought and his stomach growled loudly, which made Chiana giggle again.

"Sputnik wants to interrogate me," John said between sips. He looked at Granny as Chiana began to mix more of what he thought was his medicine. Granny started muttering and checking his heart and eyes. He shooed her away as best he could. He had been around Chiana long enough he recognized when she was agitated and her body language was screaming her protectiveness of him. John covered his smile by taking another sip of his broth.

"Yeah, well, if you make him any weaker Greebol, I'll beat the gris outta you," John was trying not to laugh as the Nebari's tirade appeared to be gathering momentum, "and then I'll get Wrinkles here to mix a powder to shrink your fannik!" Chiana turned to give John a look that was supposed to shut him up when he barked out a laugh at the end of her rant.

"Yes, yes, you mustn't make him worse," Granny muttered as she grabbed vials and began mixing things together, further agitating Chiana. Chiana chased the old woman around until she was distracted by a look at John.

Chiana turned, grabbed a cup and plunked it down on his tray. It was obvious he was supposed to drink it, but he couldn't resist looking up at her with a blank expression. Chiana just put her hands on her hips and stared back at him with her head cocked to the side. Finally he tipped the cup and began drinking. He sputtered a few times at the bad taste, but finally managed to finish it. She nodded her head in approval, gave the Kalish another dirty look, and turned back to her work bench.

"Well, Crichton," John sighed. He almost flinched every time she said his name with the inflection she used. She edged a little closer to him and John felt his hackles rise slightly. He had hoped she would just go away, "are you sure you do not remember this being at all? There are no records of such a being in Moya's data stores." John sighed and lay back on the bed.

"Sputnik, I said I don't remember anything and I don't," he said tiredly and he covered his mouth as he yawned. He suspected Chiana was putting something in his food to knock him out as he was getting more and more tired. "Besides, Moya's data stores haven't been undated in over three cycles, so this being might not be listed there anyway."

John looked Chiana in the eye as she took the tray off of his lap and his eyes got heavier. He hoped his look told her he knew what she'd done, but she just smiled at him, unrepentant. John's eyes closed and when she came back after setting the tray down, pulled his covering around him more firmly. Chiana then turned and gave the Kalish a pointed look. Sikozu sniffed loudly, turning and tossing her head, she walked out of the med bay as John fell into dreamless slumber.

************************************************************************

With D'Argo's help, John walked to his quarters. He thought to himself that he must be very tired as he had barely dressed. He had his leather pants on and his t-shirt was not tucked in. If it weren't for Chi, his boots wouldn't have been laced at all. He sat down heavily on his bed and heaved a sigh. The effort of returning to his quarters had been a strain on his strength and he was now worn out. But he was happy to be in his own place with his own things. John laughed as D'Argo shook his head at his obvious sign of contentment. Not bothering to take his boots off, John lay down and closed his eyes.

His eyes snapped open when he felt someone touch his feet and he looked down to see Chiana taking his boots off. Feeling too tired to argue, John allowed her do this intimate job. He could feel himself falling deeper into sleep as his covering was brought to his chin.

************************************************************************

Floating smoke curled down the corridor, skimming the deck of the great leviathan, as the beings on the ship slept. The smoke arched through the bars and came to a stop next to the bed. It coalesced into solid form. She had waited until the other beings left the One alone as he slept. The other being was lacing His food with a sleeping draught. She smiled, revealing her elongated teeth, as he would not know of her presence and would be deep into sleep as she fed. She crept up and looked into his face, staring in wonderment at his beauty. She lightly caressed his firm limbs, marveling at the strength and beauty there, before coming to a halt at his neck. She tipped his head up and to the side, removing the medical covering over the wounds she had left from before.

She fit her teeth into the previous holes, reopening the blood flow and the glorious taste flooded into her mouth. He gasped and then sighed, his whole body relaxing, as she held him and sucked. His blood was so rich and luxuriant; she knew she could exist for days without feeding. She fed for a few microts more and reluctantly removed her lips. She licked his neck again to seal the wounds, assuring he would not continue to bleed and risk his unfortunate death. Covering him, she shifted into another form and drifted to her hiding alcove.

************************************************************************

"Ka D'Argo! You must hurry to Commander Crichton's location!" At the sound of Pilot's strident voice over his comms, D'Argo was on his feet before he was fully awake and running towards Crichton's quarters. He was almost shocked into stopping when Pilot said, "Hurry! There is a being attacking Commander Crichton!"

D'Argo could hear Chiana running behind him with her distinctive running lope with Sikozu bringing up the rear. He thought he could hear the old woman trying to keep up as he could hear her mumbling far behind him. They rounded the corner and charged into the converted cell, only to find it empty but for Crichton lying very still on his bed.

As he checked the area for an intruder, Chiana and Noranti began to check Crichton. D'Argo forced the Kalish to help him search the cell for any sign of an intruder. Chiana at first tried to wake Crichton. When he didn't rouse, Chiana carefully checked the wounds under the bandage and found them freshly punctured, but not bleeding.

"D'Argo? Something fed off of him while we were asleep!" Chiana said in self derision as she turned to go to the med bay and her mixing table, while Sikozu checked what Crichton termed his "vidol stick sticks". Chiana turned back for a microt and stared at her human friend. His face was pale and his breathing was labored. John looked to be in some kind of distress and she was unsure about what to do. Rygel came floating in past her on his throne sled as she left. D'Argo finished checking the entire area and found nothing.

"What in the hezmana is all this fahrbot running around when I'm trying to sleep?" Rygel demanded as he came to a stop next to Noranti as she finished checking John. "He's dead asleep. How can he cause trouble in his sleep?"

"Crichton is not asleep. He is unconscious," The old woman stated as she stood up next to the Kalish. Sikozu looked afraid and began casting looks about in every direction, as if she were looking for an unseen attacker.

"There was something in here feeding off of John and we cannot detect it! We do not even know it chooses to attack only Crichton!" D'Argo shook his tentas in frustration and turned to the monitor, "Pilot? How did you know something was in here?"

"I set one of the DRD's to watch over the Commander as he slept in order to make certain he wasn't in need of anything during the sleep cycle. The DRD alerted me and recorded what took place. Do you wish to view it?" Pilot asked and received several answers; all conflicting.

"Pilot? Rygel and I were the only ones who did not see the parasite on the planet. Replay the recording for us," Sikozu requested. Chiana came around the corner with bottles of her elixirs and came to a sudden stop at what she was now seeing. Noranti came over to help carry some of the bottles. The DRD was projecting a vid of the same creature from the planet as she was suddenly in Crichton's cell. They then watched as she crouched down to the helpless human and latched onto his neck.

"Frell…" Chiana whispered as she again saw the creature she'd seen on the planet. She shivered slightly as she thought about the creature being loose on the ship. She quickly composed herself and rushed to Crichton's bedside where he continued to breathe harshly. He was now starting to sweat as she could see a fine sheen glistening on his skin. Gently lifting his head, she slowly poured one of the elixirs into his mouth to trickle down his throat. Chiana smiled slightly as his breathing began to even out and John appeared to relax.

"Well, I have never seen such a creature and one thing is for sure…..it is loose on this ship!" Sikozu stated from her position at the foot of John's bed. Chiana thought she looked like she wanted to run, but had no place to go. Panic was setting in. "What is the matter with you? You're just going to stand here and do nothing?"

"We will protect Crichton. That is what we are going to do," D'Argo hissed as he came to stand by his friend as Chiana gently fed John healing elixirs. He examined his friend and observed his pale skin gave the appearance he had lost all of his blood. His breathing had finally stabilized and with that, his body lost the tense posture of struggling for air.

"D'Argo, we have to stop this," Chiana whispered as she fed Crichton the last of the medicine, handed the now empty bottle to Noranti, and covered him with his blanket before she stood up to face the Luxan. She added quietly, "I don't know how much more he can take."

D'Argo looked at the female he had previously wanted to spend his life with and as he listened to her soft plea, he could feel himself calming and his mind becoming clear. He felt calmer, clearer when she was with him. He had never really gotten over her; he'd just tried to put his feelings aside. He nodded his head and seemed to gather his strength to form a plan.

"He won't have to," D'Argo said with conviction. He was determined his friend would come to no more harm. The Luxan felt Crichton had suffered so much already and in reflection of himself, D'Argo believed he had stood by for too long while one of his only friends was tortured and battered. He was now resolute to protect his friend when he was unable to defend himself.

************************************************************************

She watched and waited. Anxiousness and fear was making her skin tingle and her breath was coming in short panting puffs. They were aware of her presence now even though she had taken steps to ensure she would not be discovered. She had believed, wrongly, when they'd discovered him in his collapsed state that they would assume he'd just had a relapse. She hadn't counted on a mechanical device outsmarting her.

She'd also made a decision. She had decided she was going to leave this ship and she would take him with her, but not back to her colony. He would not survive there. She would keep him with her always. She turned then to go to the docking bay in order to prepare a ship in which to escape with him.

************************************************************************

"Captain Ka D'Argo?" Pilot's voice came over the comms in hushed tones, "You asked me to tell you of anything unusual going on?" D'Argo stopped walking along the tier in order to listen and change direction if need be. He had left Rygel and the old woman to guard Crichton with a pulse pistol while he, Chiana and Sikozu took the monumental task of searching the leviathan. "There is some unusual movement in the docking bay."

"Thank you, Pilot," D'Argo replied after he began running. Not wanting to announce his presence, he slowed down only when he neared the bay. D'Argo stopped behind one of Moya's ribs to stare into the cavernous bay and observed the being he had only seen on the planet, attached to his friend's neck. She was loading one of the transport pods with things of which he had no idea in obvious preparation for lift. He had a bad feeling she wasn't planning on leaving alone.

"Chiana? Sikozu? I have located the intruder," D'Argo said into his comms and was stunned when the being turned suddenly, made eye contact with him, and dissipated into swirling smoke. Taking only a nano-microt to recover, D'Argo shouted into his comms, "Rygel, be alert!! I think it is coming your way!"

************************************************************************

Rygel's eyebrows rose high as he heard D'Argo's shout over the comms and then fear opened his eyes wide. He'd only taken this part of the search because he thought it would be the safest. He made eye contact with the old woman and nodded. He readied himself as best he could and set himself to wait.

When it happened, it occurred so fast it took Rygel by surprise. He watched in surreal attention as the old woman, who had been bending over Crichton feeding him some concoction, and the next moment she was flying backwards screaming, hitting the wall hard, silencing her scream. Rygel flew fast from his hiding place with his sharp weapon in his hands. The creature was picking Crichton up as though he weighed the same as a Hynerian child and Rygel slashed out, cutting her on the cheek. Rygel sliced again and delivered a deep gash in her chest before he was knocked back.

Rygel had also effectively awakened Crichton, who screamed and started fighting back himself. Rygel observed weakly from the end of his slide on the wall as Crichton fought back hard even though he was in a weakened state and obviously frightened by the creature hissing and exposing her sharp teeth at him. She let go of the screaming and fighting human as she grabbed him by the neck and brought his face up close to hers.

Crawling towards the desperate fight, Rygel couldn't believe his eyes as his friend stopped fighting. Crichton's eyes seemed to glaze over and he went limp. The creature returned the human to a cradling position in her arms and with a speed deceptive of her mass, she left the cell in a blur.

"D'Argo, she has taken Crichton," Rygel gasped into his comm, "You must hurry!"

************************************************************************

She carried her precious One through the ship. She hadn't intended to have to fight him or to frighten him. It was obvious her appearance had frightened him and she wondered if it were a latent memory from his ancestors to fear her. He's fought her hard and she knew he would have continued to fight her. She'd been forced to paralyze him again in order to ensure he didn't come to any harm.

She had to get him off of this ship to some place safe where they could start a life. She was sure they would be compatible for procreation. She wanted to find a place where she could keep him to herself.

************************************************************************

D'Argo ran back to docking bay. He was uncharacteristically afraid. Afraid he was going to let John down once again. They had failed so far. The creature had fed off of him, not once but twice. Now, she was attempting to take him away from Moya. D'Argo ran into the docking bay in time to see the creature enter the pod and the door close. He screamed in frustration, shooting the pod with his Qualta Blade, the pulse deflecting ineffectually off the pod to strike against Moya's walls harmlessly.

Fully expecting the pod to start its take-off sequence, D'Argo was confused when it didn't occur. Without waiting further, he charged to the door and at first, attempted to type in an over-ride code. When that failed, he pulled the covering off of the controls and began pulling it's internals out. D'Argo felt the large pod rock back and forth, and then he heard John scream from inside the pod before it was abruptly silenced. D'Argo stopped and stared in consternation at the door of the pod at what could be happening inside.

************************************************************************

John awoke in fear. He was tied to one of the transport pods chairs and a creature from his childhood nightmares was at the controls, fingers running over the buttons. Crichton struggled to release himself, but he was weak from his recent attack and his struggling was ineffective. He looked over at his kidnapper and attacker. Her skin was translucent in texture and he could clearly see veins running along her jaw and her eyes were changing from dark, dark brown to a luminescent blue. She was beautiful. She was impossible. She was a vampire.

The systems continued to short out and shut down and John wanted to laugh. He had an idea his friend D'Argo must be ripping out the innards of the control panel again. He was John's only hope. The pod unexpectedly pitched from side to side and the hair on the back of his neck and arms stood up.

"Bruxa, you have been gone too long," John heard a whispery soft voice say from behind him as a sharp fingernail scraped along his back. "You have also found an imaginary, illusive prey." The fingernail scratched around his back to his shoulder until a male vampire face was devouring him with its iridescent blue eyes. John tried to control his breathing and not show fear, but he was very aware of what they could and would do to him. He didn't doubt these beings were indeed vampires and not another harmless set of aliens.

"Leave him alone, Sasha. He's mine," he heard the other vampire say as Sasha made a motion with his nose as if he were consuming a delectable aroma. He then dragged the same fingernail gently down John's cheek and then brought it too his mouth as if to taste John's essence. John tensed and then gasped as Sasha came closer and then surprisingly slicked the side of John's face with his tongue.

"He's delicious, Sasha. Where ever did you find him?" Sasha queried as he swung around, placing his arms around John's shoulders, bringing his face nerve wracking close to John's neck; sniffing along the main artery. John shivered as the vampire's warm, moist breath caressed his skin.

"Why are you here, Sasha? Except to harass me, that is," Bruxa complained angrily as she continued to fight with the ship to obtain lift. John's heart was beating so hard, he thought he was going to have a heart attack. Sasha licked the side of his neck and John stopped breathing.

"You heart is beating like a racing mosk," Sasha whispered seductively into his ear before dragging his lips along the shell of John's ear. John would have jumped out of his seat but for the ropes and Sasha's arms, as Sasha lightly bit John's ear, not breaking the skin. Sasha laughed deep in his chest, which vibrated through to John.

"Answer my question?" Bruxa all but yelled at John's aggressor. John was struggling, pulling at the ties holding him immobile as Sasha found the medical bandage over his wounds. Sasha grabbed his head, just under his chin, to hold it motionless as the dressing was ever so slowly pulled away. John heard Sasha's quick intake of air. Trembling and panting, John screamed and thought his heart stopped as Sasha smoothed his warm tongue over the now leaking wounds.

"By the Gods, you are delicious," Sasha whispered, but was violently yanked away from John by an aroused and angry Bruxa. She shoved Sasha against the wall of the pod, holding him there by one hand. John gasped at the show of strength and the snarl coming from Bruxa's mouth.

"You will leave him alone. You will answer my question!" Bruxa growled and John could see she was incensed. He was afraid of what they would do if they became too aroused. He was one lone human locked in with two hungry vampires. They turned swiftly to him and John stopped breathing. They pinned him with their eyes and slowly approached him.

"He's beautiful, isn't he?" Bruxa muttered as she slid two fingers down the side of John's face. Too afraid to move, John couldn't help but flinch as Sasha slid the backs of his fingers across John's neck. "He tastes as good as he looks."

"You two will cease and leave this being alone!" A new voice with an accent which sounded like English cockney, boomed as the pod swayed to the side. John tried to see past the two vampires, but they were so close there wasn't a possibility. John saw a hand grab a hold of the two vampires and move them physically away from him. What greeted his sight was a character out of a William Dafoe movie. This new vampire had white hair, aquiline nose, and classic features. "Well, what have we here? So, this is the reason Bruxa left us."

John shuddered as the old vampire came nearer. John knew this vampire was old as his eyes told of things seen for too many cycles. He stood before John and took everything in. John thought it wouldn't hurt to just try, "Let me go."

"You haven't been asked?" The vampire looked confused and then began to look angry. He turned to the younger vampires, who cringed from him. As he approached them slowly, they retreated further until their backs hit the wall of the wall. "You did not ask permission? You have broken one of the first rules of taking prey! We have rules for a reason!"

"Jask, you used to break rules all the time when you were younger….." Bruxa started. John couldn't believe what was happening. The vampires were multiplying before his very eyes. They were hungry, aroused, and he was prime beef. Sweat was pouring off of him and into his eyes. The older vampire came back to John and untied him. John shot out of the chair and put his back against the opposite wall. He tried to put as much distance between him and the creatures from his nightmares, but the older vampire closed the gap faster than John had thought possible and pressed him against the wall with just his presence.

"Where are you from? What do you call yourself?" The older vampire Jask asked as he examined John in detail. John gazed at Jask as he appeared to use all of his senses to get a full picture of the person John was. "I am Jask; an elder."

"My name is John Crichton. I'm human," John said as he tried to fit his body into the metal of the pod. Jask expression changed to one of bewilderment and John took a deep breath as he backed off.

"I haven't seen one of you blokes in so many cycles," Jask smiled, revealing sharp teeth. Jask seemed to relax and crossed his arms across his chest, "It is nice to know some of you chaps are finally making it out here."

John looked on in shock as Jask looked to the two younger vampires and became serious again. John edged towards the door with the intention to opening it. "I sent Sasha to talk some sense into you Bruxa, but he seems to have forgotten why he was sent here. You both will leave the human here and return home with me."

As the older vampire uttered these words, John was out the door and running on the deck. It was as though Sasha and Bruxa were energized. They were out after him and were upon John before he had gotten very far. They knocked him down and pinned John against the deck and tried to hold him motionless. John fought back, his arms and legs flailing. John's breaths were issued in grunts and pants as Sasha held him down. He lightly pierced John's wounds with his teeth and John cried out in pain. Sasha looked back at Jask, "But you haven't tasted the human. We won't leave without him."

A pulse blast bounced off the deck, singeing Bruxa, who screamed in burning pain. "Sasha! Help me!" Bruxa cried as she began to try to crawl away as Jask strode quickly from the pod. Sasha hissed at D'Argo. He didn't get off of John, who was fighting back. D'Argo shot again, this time missing Sasha as he molded himself into John's body. He used one hand to hold John's head to one side, exposing his neck, and the other holding John's chest closely to his. He wrapped his legs around John's and gripped him tightly. D'Argo watched in helpless frustration as Sasha once again sank his fangs into John's neck. John arched his back in pain and let loose an agonized scream.

D'Argo saw a blast fired from his direction and turned to see Chiana as she shot another pulse blast, which grazed Sasha's back. He could also see Rygel holding a small knife and the Kalish behind him watching the scene with wide, shocked eyes. The vampire lifted his head, his lips bloody, and yowled loudly. In a predatory fashion, he picked himself and John from the floor in an obvious attempt to return to the transport pod. D'Argo watched in utter annoyance as the creature backed away with his bleeding friend, who continued to fight the stranger's evident superior strength. He was proud John continued to fight for his life.

D'Argo watched in stunned amazement as the third stranger moved so quickly, faster than his eyes could track him, and grabbed the creature off of John, causing him to scream once more as the creature's teeth tore at his neck. The female got up and backed away in fright of the third. John grabbed his neck and fell to his knees. Blood was coming through his fingers and he looked about to fall into unconsciousness. D'Argo was surprised to see the old woman run from seemingly out of nowhere into the melee and press a cloth to the side of John's neck as he collapsed onto the deck.

D'Argo and the crew ran to John's side and watched as the third stranger easily controlled Sasha. He held the struggling creature in front of him and hit him once in the face. D'Argo felt his jaw drop open as the creature fell unconscious. The third turned to the female, who ran to him, falling prostrate in front of him as he stood still. D'Argo could hear them talking softly, but not the words. He looked down at John lying on the deck, now being attended to by Chiana as well as the old woman. D'Argo thought he hadn't realized John's skin could be so pale and he still be alive. He could see John was struggling to stay conscious.

"How's your mate doing?" D'Argo jumped as the third stranger had come up to them so quietly. D'Argo couldn't sense his presence or even detect an odor. He was nonplussed as to understand how this stranger with a lean frame could possess the impressive strength he did. This stranger didn't fill him with a sense of danger or that he was a threat.

"Um…John, uh, he's not my mate," D'Argo said and thought he heard John chuckle, but when he looked down again, John's face was serious. He looked back at the stranger in time to see him roll his eyes and snort, before shaking his head.

"No, I meant, how is your friend?" The stranger said as he knelt next to the ailing human. D'Argo could see he was taking in every part of John's condition and did not need an answer to his question. In astonishment, he looked on as the stranger grasped John's hand, holding it tightly.

"What did you mean earlier, Jask?" John whispered, struggling to talk and stay awake. John cringed as Noranti and Chiana worked on his neck, cleaning and closing the wounds. John looked over at the two younger vampires. Both were cowering on the floor. Sasha didn't take his eyes off of John. Sasha smiled, showing his sharp teeth, when he caught John's eye. John shuddered and then looked back at Jask. The stranger dropped his head for a moment and then looked back at John with a twinkle in his eye and a smirk on his face.

"I was on Earth until several cycles, years, ago. I was in a fight to save it, unknown to most people, from a great evil," Jask rolled his eyes and snorted as he appeared to be remembering back. "I sacrificed my life, or so I thought, to save everyone I cared about and, in turn, everyone I didn't give a bloody damn about. But, I did save the woman I cared about most in my miserable life."

"It's when I was in the tedious process of dying that I was shot some 'ow across the universe and landed 'ere." John watched as the old vampire's eyes had a faraway look and a small smile on his face. Jask sighed and made eye contact again with John. "Now, 'ow the bloody 'ell did you get 'ere?"

************************************************************************

John recuperated in his quarters in peace for the first time in what seemed like years. His life had far exceeded the wildest expectations he could never have expected. To meet up with vampires, one of which had even been to Earth, was surreal at best. Granny and Chiana had competed with who could perform the best treatment of his injuries to the point he had asked them under no certain terms to leave his quarters and let him rest in peace. They gave him such surprised and confused looks at his statement, he almost laughed. He hadn't even thought about the connotations of his statement to that of being dead!

John felt his neck where he'd been mauled by the vampires and marveled at the work his shipmates were able to perform. The wounds were still tender to touch and ached when he awoke in the 'morning'. Later, Chiana had told him, in a seductive whisper that had made him smile, he wouldn't even have a scar. John again almost laughed; Chi never gave up and he hoped she never did.

He then thought about the vampires' ability to just leave without using a ship. Jask told him they had found out the hard way they were able to travel unhurt and unhindered in one specific form, smoke, through space. Jask had also educated him about 'turning' someone to vampire. He had assured John he would not become a vampire as he had not taken the vampires blood into himself. After Jask had spoken to John about Earth for a short amount of time, the older vampire noticed Sasha had never taken his eyes off of John and reluctantly left, taking the young vampires forcibly with him. John shuddered at the thought of running into Sasha again.

John had sympathized with Jask the task of dealing with them, but also with his obvious homesickness. Jask had told him in a voice filled with sadness that he could not return to Earth as he could not survive in smoke form for the time required to reach their home. When John told Jask of a possible way home, Jask had smiled sadly and told him he had a home on this side of the universe now. He'd laughed then, shook his head, and said he'd always have to watch the young ones or they'd "run amuck". John had agreed with him.

God, he missed Earth. But, he missed Aeryn more.

 

A MATTER OF TASTE, PART THREE

BY DOMINO

 

*******************************************************************

His blood pressure was pounding in his temple and he knew his face was getting red. He could see throngs of people in the dark market place and were jostling past them in the street. John Crichton wanted to look at curiosities without a bodyguard. He looked around again at the multitudes of varying species, took a deep breath to try to calm himself, before turning back to his best friend.

D'Argo was staring at him as if he could not be left alone and was determined to make sure he returned to Moya without any injuries or being chased by god-like aliens. John pinched the bridge of his nose and took in a cleansing deep breath. After what he'd gone through, what his friends had gone through, Crichton accepted he'd have to live through their constant monitoring. To John, his friends were demonstrating their love of him.

Nodding his head, John could hear D'Argo's answering sigh of relief as he turned expecting John to follow him without more questions or fighting. Chiana and Rygel were bartering for food. Sikozu had decided to stay aboard Moya with the old woman. John knew his friends had decided D'Argo's job was to see to his welfare and safety. That's where the argument had started.

For the next few arns, John followed his friend through the market place and had been pleasantly surprised by the amount of fun he'd been able to have with the Luxan. Hanging around with D'Argo had taken on another level, adding to the prism of friendship he'd made with the D'Argo.

They were laughing at a proposition a female had said to John and then had to explain what she'd meant to an embarrassed Crichton, when they'd both come to a complete stand still at what was before their eyes. John couldn't breathe and he'd thought his heart had stopped.

Aeryn Sun was striding towards them in her usual confidant manner. John acknowledged in the part of his brain still functioning how the multitude of beings separated allowing her to proceed unhindered just by the strength of her presence. She came to stand in front of them and D'Argo moved quickly to hug her, swinging her off of her feet, and shouting his joy at seeing his friend. When his friend finally set Aeryn down, she turned to a still open mouthed John.

"John?" he couldn't believe his own eyes and then when Aeryn moved faster than his eyes could track. He could not then believe he was holding his heart, his love, and the keeper of his hope in his arms. He closed his eyes and relished the feel of her in his arms before his cruel world came crashing down upon him.

"I see you have found them, Officer Sun," he eyes snapped open to his nightmare. Scorpius was sauntering towards him, the crowd parted before him. John could see the faces of the crowd it was due to revulsion as the reason they had moved away and allowed the hybrid to pass. John heard D'Argo hiss and charge the pulse rifle part of his Qualta Blade.

John's reactions were slowed down by shock, but he quickly recovered and pushed Aeryn behind him. He drew Winona and pointed it at the terrifying sight coming straight towards him. Scorpius stopped and Aeryn fought with him before she finally got around John to stand between his worst enemy and John.

"John, you can't kill him," Aeryn's voice was coming from a distance and John took several deep breaths to clear his head. He only succeeded partially as Aeryn continued to stand between them and his fingers began to tingle when he heard her words. "He saved my life and I've promised him sanctuary."

"Wha……" John started in confusion and D'Argo's hiss drowned out any response he may have made. John wanted to say his worst nightmare had come true, but he'd never imagined on his worse day that the person he cared about the most would invite the being who'd tortured him almost to death to live in the only place he felt safe.

"No, Aeryn," John whispered, but D'Argo's angry shouts over-rode his protestations. John knew his friend, whose over protective nature was in over-drive due to the vampires' attacks on him, was defending John's only safe place. John couldn't believe the hybrid had figured out a way to stay on Moya.

"That's right, John," Scorpius smoothly said, calmly crossing his arms in front of his leather clad body as if he didn't have to worry about being shot. John couldn't seem to put his arm down and he had to continue to move his hand back and forth as Aeryn danced in front of Scorpius.

"This can't be happening," John whispered as he turned to walk away.

*******************************************************************

John wandered through the dusty pathways of the market in shock and wasn't even conscious of where he walked. He couldn't believe Aeryn had given Scorpius sanctuary while taking away his own. He turned a corner and backed into the wall, sliding down to sit on his heels. He held his arms around his middle in a subconscious attempt to safeguard his inner self.

He'd been so happy just to see Aeryn and then the unmitigated joy of having her in his arms. Now, he felt ripped open and his insides flayed. John was too numb to cry and sat just outside the numerous beings shopping in the market place moved noisily by.

John had been unaware of movement until a hand shot out and grabbed him by the throat, pushing him up the wall until his feet dangled twelve denches above the ground. As he fought the hand around his closed airway, his feet flailing, he saw Winona fly from his holster.

If his neck wasn't being squeezed shut, John thought he wouldn't have been able to breathe anyway as the face of the person holding him was not Scorpius, but the rogue vampire Sasha. Sasha grinned as John recognized him, his sharp teeth glinting and frightening. John fought the vampire holding him as the darkness of the alley narrowed his vision until the sight of the vampire's smiling face was the last thing he saw.

*******************************************************************

In the dark, D'Argo worriedly searched the crowded market place in frustration for his friend. After Aeryn had watched John leave in surprised silence, D'Argo had tried to find him. He was shocked himself at the audacity of Scorpius using Aeryn to claim sanctuary at the only place John could call home. He was determined to discover how he'd saved Aeryn's life to force this consideration from him.

"Pilot? Can you locate Crichton?" D'Argo asked as he unsuccessfully continued to look through the crowd. With John's poor eyesight, D'Argo was worried he would get turned around as the crowds of people seemed to get larger. The Luxan believed the mood John was in, he wouldn't be paying attention to his whereabouts.

"Captain Ka D'Argo, I have located the Commander," he felt calmer listening to the confidant tones of Moya's pilot. He was about to locate John and then he would get him safely to the Leviathan. "The Commander is 500 samats to your left."

D'Argo turned to find Crichton, weeding his way through the mob of beings and turned the corner expecting to see his friend. When he walked out of the moving mass to find an empty street, D'Argo looked around in confusion. His eyes found a glittering piece of metal near the wall, he reached over to retrieve a leviathan comm badge. His mouth compressed in extreme bewilderment when his eyes found something which answered almost all of his questions. D'Argo walked quickly over and picked up a pulse pistol almost hidden under a pile of trash. He knew without a doubt he was holding Crichton's beloved pulse pistol Winona.

*******************************************************************

John fought the darkness and succeeded in its recession twice. Each time, his strength would recede with it and he would have to wait for it to build. As he lay in semi-consciousness, John exerted some of his desperate precious energy to remember how he came to be in this dark place.

He was cognizant of his body. He was aware of the dampness of his sweat soaking his clothes and that he was laying on something soft. The softness of the blanket covering him was a surprise and the air flowing over his exposed skin was set at a perfect temperature for his body.

His memories surfaced like a well overflowing and his terror came with it. John knew he was in danger as Sasha had obviously escaped from Jasks' custody and tracked him down like a blood hound. Sweat beaded on his skin as he fought himself for the strength to wake fully and move his body. There was near silent movement in the room with him and he would have jumped if he had been able, when a voice whispered in his ear.

"I know you can hear me," Sasha's breath teased his ear and his lips feathered the outer shell, sending ripples of revulsion down John's body. He could now feel a burning sensation like before on the side of his neck. "I know you are fighting to awaken fully, but you cannot. I have drained you not to death, or the point of it, but to the extent you will need some time and even help to gather your strength."

John heard a soft whimper and realized too late it came from his own lips. A feather-like touch graced his lips, causing shudders to surge through his body. Sasha laughed close to his face, his breath warm, moist, and smelling like blood. His blood.

*******************************************************************

 

"What the frell do you mean, he's disappeared?" Aeryn shouted as she paced in the small alleyway where D'Argo had located John's comm badge and pulse pistol. D'Argo could see the former Peacekeeper was about to explode and Scorpius, for once, was silent. As soon as he'd commed everyone that John had disappeared, the hybrid had been firing questions in barely restrained impatience. Aeryn had been silent, listening until she obviously had not gotten the answers she had wanted.

D'Argo was frustrated himself as he had no idea where his friend could have been taken or by whom. He had hissed and shouted through his recitation of what he had found, provoking Chiana into shouting at him to calmly tell them what he'd found and where. Chiana and Rygel had just completed haggling for food and had joined the rest in the dark alley. If Scorpius wasn't standing next to them, exhibiting the symptoms of stress and annoyance, he would have suspected he had something to do with the human's disappearance.

"He's missing. We need to calm down and find him before they take him off-planet," D'Argo spoke quietly and with a determination. He was angry he was continuing to let his friend down by not protecting him when he couldn't protect himself. "I have detected a scent I have not smelled since the one time on Moya. Sasha has taken John."

Aeryn turned in confusion at Chiana's sudden intake of air and look of dread. Scorpius had the same look of confusion she knew herself to be wearing. Her blood began to boil and the heat of it suffused her skin, leaving her uncomfortable in her own skin and further escalating her anger. She'd come so far to find John and had expected to some degree his rapid expressions of denial, betrayal, and hurt. What she hadn't anticipated was John walking away in shock. Now, he was endangered by someone she did not know or how to deal with.

D'Argo swiftly explained the events that took place a few monens prior to her return and she listened in disbelieving silence. "John told us they had acted as though human blood was an intoxicant to them. We saw for ourselves how determined those two were to keeping John."

"Food? They wanted John for food?" D'Argo raised his eyebrows in appreciation as Aeryn hissed in a manner appropriate for a Luxan. She hitched up her pulse rifle and he realized she may have finally reached Sebacean Hyper-Rage. He took his Qualta Blade from its sheath and charged up the pulse. He looked over at Chiana and received her enthusiastic nod before turning to Scorpius. Scorpius gave him an intense stare and then nodded before turning to following D'Argo and Aeryn.

*******************************************************************

John could feel himself being carried. He was burning with frustration and anger. He'd been lying on his mattress trying to order his body to respond to his mental commands. His hands had begun to move and his eyes had opened to view a dim room. He had heard and felt Sasha move through the room and the sounds were rushed. Hands took his head and tilted his chin up and to the right, exposing the left side of his neck.

"We cannot have you mobile just yet," Sasha laughed softly as John tried to turn his head away, applying minor pressure to hold John's head still. Sasha glided his tongue feather-light across John's lips in a macabre kiss before rapidly settling his lips over the area he'd pierced before. John had cried 'No!', but it came out as a whisper as Sasha again pierced the wounds on his neck. John could feel his life essence being drawn out in ghoulish love bite.

Sasha had effectively kept John suspended in the dark place, where he couldn't move. He could hear everything going on around him, but could not respond. Sasha had left him alone for the most part, but would go to John's side periodically to torment him with his demented ideas of John's future.

Until the moment Sasha had come quietly to his side and easily lifted him in his arms, carrying him out of the dwelling he had secluded John in. Night air breezed across his skin, cooling the sweat and making him shiver. Sasha whispered assurances and cooing noises that did nothing to settle the fears clouding John's mind. John knew Sasha must have located a 'safe house' or was about to take him off planet. John knew his friends would never find him if he got off planet and desperation made his breathing labored.

Sasha abruptly stopped and whispered into John's ear to calm himself before continuing his trek to whatever destination he'd planned. Sudden gravity pulled at him and the rush of air took his breath away. John's mind told him he had gone straight up at an unexpected speed even though rational thought and logic rejected the very possibility. Stale, dusty air greeted John as Sasha entered some type of building. Sasha walked a short distance before he placed John on some type of pallet. John heard Sasha walk out of the building, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

After silence reigned for some time, John found the strength to open his eyes and he looked around. Accustomed now to darkness, his eyes were able to take in the shape of the room, but nothing else. As befitting a vampire, the room was seeped in darkness. Shapes faded and merged into others, supplying his brain with only ideas of what objects could be.

John looked inward in order to take stock of any ability he could use to escape. Although his mind was tired, but it was clear of the muddiness Sasha's first 'kiss' had left him with. His strength was low, but growing slowly within him. Sasha's recent bite had not drained him into a stupor and John wondered why. He could feel sleep was even now drawing him closer to its cloying grip.

John knew he would have to keep the news of his slow recovery from Sasha. He wondered where the vampire had gone and why he wasn't in a hurry to take John off-planet. He felt his eyes closing and no amount of fighting would keep them open. Sleep covered him in its darkness and John hoped he would be stronger when he next awoke.

*******************************************************************

"I have searched the sector I chose and found no sign of Crichton," Rygel told Aeryn as he approached her in the agreed upon site. Chiana had already come from her search area and had greeted Aeryn with a sad negative shake of her white hair. Aeryn could feel desperation growing within her and she was now placing her last hopes with D'Argo. Her own search had left her angry and fearful. As calm settled over her, she knew she would not give up on finding John. She would continue her search for the rest of her life.

"Aeryn," she heard D'Argo whisper through her comms. She could feel her heartbeat pickup speed with the whisper of her name. "I think I have found John."

"Where is he?" Aeryn spoke softly into her comms. The quiet voice D'Argo was using told her he was trying to utilize stealth. Her mental image of the Luxan had him poised in the shadows near where John was being held. D'Argo quietly gave her his location and informed the former Peacekeeper of the need to move quickly.

Aeryn nodded at Chiana and Rygel, who followed her silently through the market place. She cautiously moved up to D'Argo's position after leaving Chiana and Rygel at strategic points to cut the night creature off at every exit he could employ to take John away. D'Argo nodded his head at her arrival and then returned his stare at the small abandoned apartment at the top of a dark warehouse.

"I followed the blood fiend to this site after I caught sight of it at the docking area," D'Argo briefed Aeryn without taking his eyes off of the structure. "I hid until I detected what I had remembered from the only time I had been around these beings. I waited until I found a lack of scent."

"What do you mean?" Aeryn questioned in puzzlement as she too watched the edifice for any type of movement. It looked like just another abandoned building that could be on any second rate planet. She trusted D'Argo's abilities; his tracking skill was the best she'd ever seen.

"The creatures have no scent. But John does," D'Argo grinned at her and briefly relished his triumph before returning his attention to his recent obsession. Aeryn shared his smile.

"John is incapacitated. You must go in and take him back, if you want 'em," a voice said from the shadows. Aeryn and D'Argo both turned swiftly to see the face that went with the voice. Aeryn saw only a stranger, D'Argo knew he was viewing the kind of assistance he had been praying for.

"Jask!" D'Argo growled, "Is it the same male from before who took John?" D'Argo asked as he stared into the eyes of what he believed to be a magical being. One who could get them into that building with minimal loss of life.

"It's good that you remember 'im. 'e's always been a bit o' trouble. But, yes. It's Sasha," Jask sauntered over slowly towards Aeryn. Aeryn cautiously kept herself facing this stranger as her instincts told her he was exceptionally dangerous. Her eyes argued as Jask was slim framed and just slightly shorter than John. Anger built as he eyed her body leisurely and seemed to like what he saw as heat banked in his eyes. He unexpectedly turned back to D'Argo.

"As soon as I realized Sasha was missing from the colony, I came searching," Jask revolved his stare from the Luxan to the apartment above them, "I found him."

"Why didn't you free John then?" Aeryn asked in a hard voice. The accusation was clear. What D'Argo had told her of these creatures and their abilities led her to believe this one could take John from the other. Jask snorted and shook his head. Aeryn wanted to smile as this trait must be a human condition.

"Sasha is older than he looks and I cannot defeat him without a little assistance. That's where you two and your friends come in," Jask smiled in such a way that made Aeryn believe that John wasn't the only human who was crazy.

"Alright," D'Argo started. Aeryn looked on in pride as the Luxan began detailing his rescue plan. She was sure John would be returned to them alive.

*******************************************************************

John was breathing hard and sweating. After Sasha had left, he had wanted to test the level of his strength. He'd forced his body to sit up at first, then stand. That was as far as he'd gotten. Dizziness forced him to sit back down on the dusty pallet. Disappointment crashed heavily upon him. Sasha had moved him to new locations twice.

During the daylight hours, he'd had to suffer the presence of the vampire. Sasha refused to stay away from him and even slept next to him. At first, John had thought Sasha had wanted something besides blood from him. He'd found the creature only loved to torment him by lying next to John and wrapping his body securely around John.

As John weakly struggled, Sasha would lick at John's wounds until they opened and begin to trickle. Like a fly caught in a spider's web, John would resist futilely as Sasha laughed and pulled him closer. Sasha's eyes would glow iridescent blue as he held John tightly. Sasha would then leisurely lap at the minute drops of blood that would seep. Sasha always left him for a short amount of time after the sun went down and John believed he went to feed on some poor innocent. Sasha told him he was afraid he would drain John to the point of death if he attempted to sustain himself with only John's blood.

John heard movement below and then footsteps that sounded like an army entering the building downstairs. Hope flared anew with the thought of his friends' timely rescue, but John cringed in horror as Sasha burst through the door in full vampire mode. Sasha's face was terrifying and he came right at John.

Sasha scooped John up in tremendous speed and strength while John screamed. His scream abruptly cut off as he moved at a speed he had never moved in, John gazed at the blur in confusion. Then he was thrown across to the opposite side of the room as the door flew open with hissing noise. John's eyesight dimmed suddenly as he hit the wall and slid down in boneless form.

*******************************************************************

Aeryn burst threw the door close behind Jask, who hissed in challenge at Sasha. She watched in shock as Sasha threw John across the room where he hit the wall with a bone breaking thud. She ran over to John as D'Argo charged in to assist Jask. She turned to see the Luxan as he was thrown off the vampire's back as if he weighed like that of a child. Aeryn couldn't stop as it was her responsibility was to get John out of the building and get him to where Chiana waited before she could return to help subdue the renegade creature. She stopped to pick him up and regretted she had no time to examine him to determine his condition.

Aeryn grunted as she lifted John over her shoulders and turned to run out the door. To her surprise, Sasha had thrown Jask through the rooms only window and D'Argo lay groggy in the corner. Sasha turned towards her and his eyes appeared to glow red when he saw John draped over her shoulders. Sasha growled, edging towards her as she took careful steps backwards.

"You're taking something that doesn't belong to you," the vampire snarled at her, advancing a little faster as she gently lay John's limp body on the floor. The former Peacekeeper then assumed a fighting stance and waited for the creature to get within striking range. She believed he had never fought with a prepared, fully trained Peacekeeper, but he was going to get his chance.

"He never belonged to you," Aeryn murmured. Sasha lunged for her and Aeryn side-stepped to the left, allowing the vampire to move partially past her before plunging her knee full force into his gut and driving her elbow into his back. Aeryn watched with keen eyes as Sasha hit the floor before kicking her foot into his stomach. She knew she had hit the vampire unprepared as her foot sunk into soft flesh.

Air whooshed out of Sasha's mouth and he uttered a grunt of pure pain. Surprise was etched on Aeryn's face as he got to his feet too fast for any normal being. Growling, he came at her slowly at first and then with speed so fast it appeared blurred at the edges.

*******************************************************************

 

Pain throbbed in his head and then John discovered it was ricocheting all over his body. He opened his eyes to furniture crashing and slowly brought his attention over his right shoulder to the horrific scene being played out in the room. D'Argo was trying to get to his shaky feet and Jask was nowhere to be found. John forgot about his weakness and pain when he saw Sasha pick Aeryn up high over his head and prepared to also throw her out of the window.

"NO!" John screamed as his nightmare was realized when Aeryn disappeared through the window. He charged his nemesis grabbing him by the throat and held on with a determination born of grief and loss. Sasha clawed at John's chest and stomach before he broke the human's hold and grabbed his head with both hands. John clawed at the hands holding his head tightly.

"You will belong to no one else," Sasha snarled, squeezing John's head until he began to believe Sasha would crush his skull. John's eyes widened and fear paralyzed his limbs, halting his fight with his hands still on the vampire's wrists as Sasha's face changed to a more hideous vampire mask than John had ever seen.

Sasha's eyes turned blood red and the surface area around his forehead and nose flushed out even further than was normal when he'd changed before to drink John's blood. Sharp, white fangs glistened in the dim light of the room. John screamed.

Unhurriedly, Sasha brought John's head to his face, obviously enjoying the human's fear and futile struggle to save his life. Sasha laughed as John thrashed about harder, kicking and pushing against the parasite with his feet. Low growling could be heard over the pants and grunts of the hopeless fight.

"John!" D'Argo bellowed and charged the enraged vampire. Still holding John with one hand and leaving the human's feet dangling above the floor, Sasha backhanded the Luxan sending him again crashing against the wall where he lay still. Now through playing with his victim, Sasha jerked John's head to the side and swiftly brought his neck to his mouth. Enjoying a last resistance and scream by the human, Sasha waited a nano-microt before sinking his fangs into the tasty flesh. Sasha tightened his hold on the human as he jerked in his embrace and fought further before he felt John go limp.

*******************************************************************

Aeryn came through the door once again behind Jask and paused in shock at John's pale body, hanging as if lifeless in Sasha's arms with his bloody mouth at John's throat. At Jask's growling hiss, Sasha let John's body slide down his to lie still at his feet. Sasha laughed until Jask launched himself at the renegade and a true fight of immortals began.

Aeryn grabbed John's hand and dragged him to a safe corner. Blood was flowing freely from the bite on his neck and the former Peacekeeper applied pressure to staunch the flow. Watching the desperate fight in her peripheral vision, she double checked John's heartbeat and found it thready and weak. Aeryn pressed more firmly against his neck and smiled as John groaned quietly.

"That's it, John. Fight back. Come back to me," Aeryn whispered. She made eye contact with a woozy D'Argo across the room and then turned her attention momentarily to the fight between vampires. D'Argo scrambled over to her position, retrieving his Qualta Blade as he went. From the corner of the shadowed room, the two warriors watched as immortals fought.

Jask had Sasha by the throat and spun him around in a tight, fast circle. He released the renegade, who swiftly hit the wall hard enough to send building material exploding away. Sasha landed clumsily on the floor, shook the dust and debris off, cast a side glance at John, and then attacked Jask again.

Sasha raked sharp nails across Jask's face, drawing blood, and his chest, ripping only slightly the old tough black leather. Jask didn't wait for the next move of the younger vampire; he slapped Sasha hard crossways and then punched the protruding nose. Sasha fell to his knees, but Jask raised him above his head using one hand.

"We have rules for a reason, young one," Jask said in a growling voice. Aeryn could see the anger Jask was trying hard to control. It was rolling off of him in waves. He continued to hold the rogue vampire above the floor by the neck. Sasha weakly fought in his grasp, but seemed to be listening finally to what the older man was saying.

"I come from the human's home world and I know what it feels like to be hunted! To have friends killed for what they were! To be bloody hunted to exhaustion where death would be a relief," Jask threw Sasha against the wall, where he slid to floor and sat. Jask snarled, "That is what happens when you take without asking! When you take what is not freely given!"

"They are nothin' but animals for us to use at will!" Sasha screamed at him. His eyes blazed in his anger and seemed to track every few microts to where John lay still on the floor. "They cannot do the things we can and their lives last a minuscule amount compared with ours!"

"Can't you bloody see them for the miracles they are?" Jask raised his hand in question and asked quietly, his face a mirror to his consternation and disbelief. He stared at the young one, not believing the cycles he had spent with Sasha had been so unfruitful. He had hoped to teach them better; to escape the fate their ancestors on Earth fell to. He rubbed his face with his hands and sighed.

"In their short lives they do more, live more, and give more than any of us 'immortals' ever did or could do," Jask squatted down on eye level with Sasha and intensely held his eyes. He wanted to make sure what he was about to tell the young vampire would get through to him and stick this time.

"It is because their lives are so short that they make every minute count; they live every moment to its fullest potential," Jask eyes took are faraway cast as if he were seeing another place, another time, another face. "They give and receive love in amounts that would astound you. Their lives may only last a partial of ours, but they shine brighter than a super nova."

Jask watched closely as Sasha seemed to grasp a small part of what he was trying desperately to impart. As the silence of the room seemed to bring him back to the present, Jask could now hear the labored breathing of the human. He turned to see John lying still on the floor, struggling for breath, for life. His face was pale and his eyes were closed as the Sebacean woman tended his wound.

Jask turned back to Sasha, who was deep in thought, but was still conscious of his surroundings as he met Jasks' gaze in understanding. He could see Sasha knew, or was beginning to understand, the mortals' worth. Jask continued to worry as the young vampire would look with longing every few microts at John Crichton.

He could hear whispered encouragement and turned to see the Sebacean talking to the human, close to his ear. Jask walked over and bent on one knee next to the ailing human. He handed a vial to the woman, who gave him a questioning look.

"It will speed up his body's ability to produce blood and stop infections," Jask explained softly. She gently lifted John's head and tipped the vial, emptying it slowly into his mouth. She watched his face intently for any reaction and when there was none she turned back to the blond vampire.

"It takes awhile to work," Jask chuckled quietly and began to check John's heartbeat and eyes. He sighed and nodded at Aeryn, giving her a small smile of support. "He should be fine, but it could take some time. Human bodies take longer to heal than others this side of the universe," Jask stated and raised a finger at John's friends, "but that doesn't make them deficient."

*******************************************************************

Voices were talking over him, disturbing his sleep. He could feel the softness of his bed underneath him and his furry blanket over him. His mind had the same texture. It was blurry around the edges and he was disconnected from the remainder of his body.

"Will you both quit arguing!?" Aeryn's voice said from right beside him. A soft, cool hand caressed his face, gliding over his forehead. He heard a groan and the hand cupped the side of his face. He heard Aeryn's voice telling him he was safe and that everything was alright. With effort, he opened his eyes to find Aeryn leaning over him.

"Hey," he said, but came out as a croak. Aeryn smiled and gently raised his head to help him drink some cool water. He felt too warm and instinctively knew he was ill, but couldn't remember how he'd gotten that way. There was bandaging on one side of his neck and his limbs felt too heavy to lift. John looked at his personal angel as Aeryn wiped his brow with a cool cloth.

"Aeryn? What happened to me?" John asked with a raspy voice. He could see Chiana and the old woman behind her, hovering as if they were waiting for something. D'Argo rushed into the room and came to an abrupt halt at seeing John, his face a comical expression of surprise.

"Hey Big Guy," John said and laughed a gasping laugh, which changed to coughing. Aeryn assisted John to a sitting position and held a glass to his lips, encouraging him to drink a little water. The cool water was a balm to his dry throat and he nodded his thanks to Aeryn.

"How do you feel, John?" D'Argo asked as he tried to arrange his face into an example of concern. Aeryn bit her lip and hid her hurried attempt to stop laughing by gently lowering John to a comfortable position on his bed.

"Like crap – dren – Big D. What I wanna know is how I got this way," John said quietly, his voice still raspy. His humor was fading fast as his friends looked at each other and no one answered his only question. Anger was building as D'Argo looked at Aeryn and nodded his head.

"Jask said you probably wouldn't remember anything unless we prompted your memory," Aeryn started and everyone sighed in relief as she began explaining the events of the past two solar days to John. John was feeling alarmed at the mention of the vampire from Earth and he believed he could guess what was coming next.

"Two solar days ago Sasha grabbed you and," Aeryn started, but stopped abruptly as Crichton's eyes widened, his body stiffened and his face drained of color. "John? What's wrong?"

"I remember," John gasped and shuddered. The horrific event of the last few days came back in a tidal wave of fear, loathing, and the last memory he'd had as Sasha was drinking his life from him. As Sasha held him in his iron grip, John had been able to feel his hands and feet grow cold and then numb. Then a kind of peace had settled in his mind and he understood the meaning of dead calm.

He had been surprised and had even gasped as a type of euphoria overtook him. John had heard Sasha chuckle before his hold tightened upon him. John then had a unique understanding of the vampire's death grip upon him; how through the history on Earth they had been able to achieve dominance and control over their victims. The complete rapture he'd felt as Sasha was draining him was hard to walk away from.

"If it wasn't for Jask, we would never have been able to free you from Sasha," Chiana told him as she sat on the floor next to Aeryn. He looked at the young Nebari; her eyes were now fully round with their usual black depths. If not for the memories he carried of his predicament, he could see from her expression how serious the situation had been.

John felt himself start to relax. His memories would have to be absorbed and dealt with fully after he was alone. He had no memory after Sasha taking him in his deadly arms and he wanted to know how he came to still be in the land of the living.

"Jask fought Sasha," Aeryn gave Chiana a stern look at her interruption of 'It was frelling fantastic!' before continuing, "Jask won and was finally able to talk rationally with him," Aeryn finished with a curious smile. She met John's eyes, "Only after he beat the dren out of him first." John shuddered at he thought back to the things Sasha had consistently told him all though his captivity. He couldn't tell his friends the future the vampire had planned for him. He worried this was not the last he saw of this pursuer.

John looked up to see Aeryn giving him a questioning look and he shook his head. She seemed to accept that response for now, but he knew that look. She would want an answer eventually and he would have to make sure he had one when she next asked for it. He watched as Aeryn seemed to come to a decision and breathed deep.

"I believe John needs some sustenance and rest," she stood and looked at the others as they slowly filed out; each telling him in their unique way to rest and they'd visit him later. Aeryn waited until she was the only one in the room with him and gave him a long, penetrating look. "I'll be back John. We will talk then."

John watched her leave and wondered how he could tell her what the renegade vampire had told him over and over. He turned his mind back to when he'd been lying on the cot with the vampire wrapped around him in a grotesque mirror of a lover's embrace. Sasha slowly licked his neck and petted him, causing John to shudder in revulsion.

As he'd lain in the world between consciousness and darkness after the vampire had fed off of him in order to keep him compliant, Sasha had whispered many things in his ears. The one that made him shiver was the surety in his voice when he'd told John that no matter the circumstances, he would always come for him. If they were separated some how, and unless John witnessed his body disintegrate, Sasha told John he should never doubt he would always come for him.

John knew the young vampire would again come for him.

*******************************************************************

John was still deep in thought when Aeryn returned to his quarters. She sat the tray of food on his 'night stand'. He was startled and reacted badly; trying to retreat across his bed before he had begun to think. Aeryn stopped him with gentle touches and soft words. His breathing was rapid and adrenaline pumped through his veins, making him shake.

He let her sooth him, wiping his face with a cool cloth. John nodded at her enquiring gaze and she picked up some food off the tray. He was just getting his breath under control when she handed him a nutrient drink. It surprisingly had an unknown, but delicious taste.

"Well, John?" Aeryn asked as she handed him a dish of something. She gave him a disgruntled look as he sniffed at it before he put it into his mouth. It tasted pretty good, so he ate the bowl of whatever she had given him. He was starting to get tired, but he knew she would want her answers.

"I don't think Jask is going to be able to control Sasha," John whispered. Aeryn just stared back, waiting for him to continue and explain. He went on to tell her of his ordeal with the rogue vampire and what Sasha had threatened to do. "I really believe he will come for me eventually, Aeryn."

"He can try John, but I – we – won't let him," Aeryn picked up his hand and held it, kissing his knuckles. John held her gaze intensely and squeezed her hand before releasing it. He continued eating. He noticed Aeryn's hand had landed on his knee and it felt as if her hand was burning through his blanket.

"John we never got a chance to talk before…" Aeryn started. Her body behavior was shouting her nervousness. She had taken her hand away from his leg, leaving cold behind.

"You brought Scorpius with you," he returned glumly, his eyes never leaving hers. He still felt betrayed by this. She had brought his worst nightmare to his sanctuary. John whispered, "After everything he's done to me, how could you bring him to Moya?"

"You had walked away prior to my explanation," Aeryn started. She was surprised when John allowed her to pick up his hand once again. She laced her fingers through his, feeling his warm dry skin. She could also feel the strength he kept under strict control. She thought it funny now how she had believed him to be from a weak species.

"I had been exposed to intense heat and began to suffer from Heat Delirium," Aeryn started. She looked down at their entwined hands and this gave her strength to go on. "He saved my life. The only thing he requested was for asylum. Would you rather I died? Or can you tolerate his presence until we find a way to make him leave."

"No, I don't wish that you had died, Aeryn," John was aghast she would believe he could ever wish her dead. In his honesty, if he had been in her place he could not think of an alternative to giving Scorpy what he had wanted. "I just wish you hadn't left in the first place and Scorpy was here watching my every movement."

"I had no other choice, John. I needed the time to come to terms with J… - his death," Aeryn hesitated and John mentally kicked himself for starting this conversation and putting her through grief again. Then Aeryn looked into his eyes and he knew. John knew she wasn't thinking that at all. She was looking at him in what he believed was love in her eyes.

"I had to come back to tell you that I love John Crichton," John held his breath as Aeryn tantalizingly ran her hands up his chest to bury them in his hair, "The one and only John Crichton. The Destroyer of uneventful Peacekeeper lives and the guiding star of my mine."

His heart felt as though it were going to burst from his chest as she slowly brought her face closer to his. He saw stars as her soft lips pressed against his and then he gasped as her tongue wetly surged into his mouth to dance with his. His arms jerked as Aeryn's closed about him and he framed her face with his hands as he kissed her deeply.

John then believed his heart was going to stop as her hand traveled south to his groin. His cock was instantly hard; the hardest he'd ever had and he knew it was all due to the woman who held him in her arms. She moved the covering aside and he shivered temporarily in the cool air of the leviathan.

Aeryn couldn't believe she was finally showing John Crichton how she felt about him and that he was allowing her. She admired the beautiful male body spread out before her on the bed and ran her hands caressingly across the smooth flesh of his stomach and thighs. She turned suddenly and went to his feet, leaving John sitting up slightly in confusion. He relaxed minutely at her wicked, smiling look.

John thought his nervous system would short out as she took his big toe into her wet, hot mouth, pulling on it with an intense amount of suction. Gasping, he watched as she kissed and caressed her way up his legs. She stopped only once to spread out one long, moist lick up the indention next to his hip bone.

She traveled on. He jumped when she stuck her tongue into his belly button, but his nerves quieted down as she smoothly glided her hands over his limbs. His body was twitching with over-wrought nerves and her every move only heightened them.

She zipped up to his nipple and enclosed her moist lips around it, causing him to once again jump. Aeryn covered half of John's body and he stiffened every nerve short circuiting when she sucked on the sensitive skin just under and back behind his ear.

She'd always loved making his body dance for her. She was wrong; she'd never made this John Crichton's body dance this way. It was the first time for him and she smiled wickedly at about what she was about to do to him.

She kissed him gently at first, increasing pressure until she was kissing him hard and deep. John's breathing was now ragged; her caresses gentle and teasing. She then kissed her way quickly down his rapidly rising and decreasing chest to his treasure trove.

She enclosed her lips around the crown of his cock and John's lower half came up off of the bed in a deep, shocked gasp. She watched in aroused amusement as he tensely gripped his bed with both hands. Her own body was throbbing in a heightened state of arousal. She ran her hand caressingly back and forth on his thigh. John was groaning and she looked into his eyes, glazed with passion.

She took him deeper into her mouth, swirling her tongue around his hard cock, until she had taken him entirely into her mouth. John let out a small cry and she quieted him by smoothing her hand over his stomach. As she alternately sucked, swirled, and glided her mouth over him, she caressed his balls with her hand. She quickly wet her finger before he noticed a difference in her manipulations of his body.

She quickly looked and found his eyes closed; he was lost in the sensations she was creating. A fine layer of perspiration created a sheen on his skin and he was rolling his head to the sides and breathing heavy. She gently slipped her finger into his anus, pressing on a gland she knew to be there, as she simultaneously sucked on his cock as hard as she could. John cried out Aeryn's name as his body arched off the bed and he came into her mouth.

John's eyes were almost closed and glazed over; his breathing ragged. Aeryn lay next to him on his bed and held him gently in her arms, caressing his arms as he came down from the obvious heights of his orgasm. Her own arousal continued to throb with want.

Aeryn gasped as John's arms suddenly enclosed her and he flipped them over, covering her body with his own. She was overwhelmed with sensations as he kissed her deeply and caressed her body with his hands. John gently forced her legs apart and lay halfway in the cradle of her hips. Already strongly aroused, she gasped and almost jumped when his fingers swirled around her soft folds, slipping wetly into her depths.

Kissing her deeply, he eased several fingers inside of her and made pumping motions in tandem with his tongue. She could feel his own aroused state against her leg and just as he found it, he turned his body and slipped his hard cock into her hot, wet core. They both gasped at his entrance and at the sweet friction his body created in hers.

His body surged into hers in thick, long firm strokes. His flesh slapped into hers in beautiful agony. His eyes never left hers as he unexpectedly brought her to orgasm as he circled his hips, thrusting deep and hard. Aeryn could see satisfaction in the blue depths of his eyes at her orgasm.

She attempted to turn their bodies over, but his legs were spread wide, making it impossible to flip them over to turn the tables on him. Determination was written in the profundity of his gaze and he grabbed her left knee, placing it in the bend of his inner elbow. He had now re-positioned her body for deeper thrusts, bringing her abruptly to orgasm again.

Aeryn watched John's face in fascination and frustration as he chuckled deep in his chest at what he was doing to her. It was obvious to them both he was doing things to her his 'other' had never done. Aeryn did the only thing she could do. She clamped down hard with her inner muscles and John groaned as he had to push hard to thrust threw her inner musculature.

She tightened harder and John cried out his orgasm, thrusting erratically. He stopped and lay heavily on top of her, breathing hard and heavily. She let him rest for a few microts before she picked up his head to gaze into sex glazed eyes. She kissed him gently and deep. "I love you John Crichton."

He flipped them over and held her body close to his. He looked into her eyes as he said, "I love you Aeryn Sun. Beyond hope."

 

The End


End file.
